Investors Purchase Large Volume of Carvana Put Options (NYSE:CVNA)

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 155,794 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 92% compared to the average volume of 81,195 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVNA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Carvana from $460.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Gordon Haskett dropped their price objective on Carvana from $435.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Carvana from $550.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Carvana from $470.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Carvana from $535.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $440.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carvana

In related news, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.19, for a total value of $5,229,922.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 202,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,193,505.23. This trade represents a 5.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas Taira sold 953 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.00, for a total transaction of $309,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 64,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,124,025. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 53,574 shares of company stock valued at $21,463,735 over the last three months. Insiders own 17.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carvana

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings in Carvana by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Carvana by 28.3% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Carvana by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Carvana by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Carvana by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Carvana Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE CVNA opened at $295.10 on Friday. Carvana has a 12 month low of $148.25 and a 12 month high of $486.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $377.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $376.73. The company has a current ratio of 4.31, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $64.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70 and a beta of 3.60.

Carvana shares are scheduled to split on the morning of Thursday, May 7th. The 5-1 split was announced on Friday, March 13th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, May 6th.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $3.12. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.24 billion. Carvana had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 50.96%. Carvana’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Carvana will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

About Carvana

Carvana Co is an online-only retailer of used vehicles that operates a consumer-facing e-commerce platform for buying and selling cars. The company markets and sells inspected, reconditioned pre-owned vehicles through its website, where shoppers can browse inventory, view detailed 360-degree photos and vehicle history reports, finance purchases, and arrange delivery or pickup. Carvana’s model is built around a digital end-to-end car buying experience that aims to simplify vehicle transactions compared with traditional dealerships.

Its products and services include direct retail sales of used cars, trade-in and purchase offers for consumer vehicles, vehicle financing and related protection products, and a seven-day return policy that allows customers to test a vehicle in everyday use.